He's been assigned to head a bomb-defusing squad in Baghdad, c. 2005, and his new mates, whose last leader got blown to bits, don't care at all for James's go-it-alone style. But they can't help be awed by his bravado. Before checking one car suspected of being loaded with IEDs, he removes his protective hazmat suit, saying, "If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna be comfortable." Renner, who took supporting roles in North Country, 28 Weeks Later and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and co-starred in the recent ABC series The Unusuals, isn't the standard, steel-jawed action-movie hero; he has the soft, unremarkable features of any good ol' boy. That's the surprise of superior acting, for Renner gives his character the cool aplomb and attention to detail of a great athlete, or a master psychopath, maybe both. Like James, Renner is the right man for a tough job.
The Top 10 Everything of 2009
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Facebook Stories
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Ideas
- Top 10 Heroes
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Pariahs
- Top 10 Pictures of the Year
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Untruths
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
TIME charts the highs and lows of the past year in 50 wide-ranging lists